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12 Februarie 2021
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A schematic illustration of the SEZ. Source: PPT Presentation on Pre-Feasibility Study on Mutasshi-Special Economic Zone.
MMSEZ’s EIA “not ok” By Andries van Zyl The final Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the phased development of the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) was submitted to the provincial department of Economic Development Environment and Tourism (LEDET) on 1 February. This followed after LEDET refused to grant any further extension in timeframes for the completion of the report. This refusal has sparked a public outcry and many believe this is a clear indication that the EIA process is nothing more than a paper exercise for government to “rubber stamp” a predetermined outcome. Various groups and institutions requested an extension of time to complete the EIA. Even the provincial government’s own Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) appointed to
conduct the EIA, Delta Built Environment Consultants (Delta BEC), requested that the date be extended to 31 March. In response to their request, LEDET replied: “The Environmental Assessment Practitioner is reminded of the letter dated 26/10/2020 wherein it was stated that the environmental impact assessment process for this project was way long outside the prescribed timeframes and no further extension on timeframes would be granted by the Department.” The cut-off date for the submission of the final EIA report was 31 January this year, but seeing that it was a Sunday, the report was submitted the following day. The third and final round of public participation meetings was, due to the time-constraints imposed by LEDET, scheduled to take place from 6 January 2021 to 14 January this year. These meetings were, however, scheduled in accordance with the Covid-19 Alert Level 1 re-
strictions applicable last year. On 28 December the country was placed on adjusted Alert Level 3, which meant that no physical meetings were allowed. The physical meetings scheduled were thus cancelled and Delta BEC tried to overcome the problem by arranging virtual meetings for 20 and 21 January 2021. These meeting were, however, poorly attended and excluded those who did not have access to the Internet or data.
Background
The MMSEZ comprises two sites. The first site, Artonvilla, is located in Musina, while the second site, known as the Southern SEZ, is located some 50 km south of Musina at Bokmakierie. It comprises 8 022 hectares of land. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) approved the development of the MMSEZ in July 2017 as part of their National Development Plan (NDP) which aims to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030.
According to Delta BEC’s own estimates, the objective of the MMSEZ is to create 53 800 jobs of which 95% will be local jobs. The EIA submitted on 1 February was for the granting of environmental authorisation to start clearing the site. The National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) stipulates that an EIA needs to be conducted for the clearance of an area of 20 hectares or more of indigenous vegetation, or the clearance of 300 square metres or more of indigenous vegetation within a critical biodiversity area.
Sounds good, but …
From the onset, the proposed MMSEZ was marred by controversy. Three rounds of public meetings were held, the first taking place in September last year and in total 2 000 interested and affected parties (I&AP) registered for the process. (Contd on P2)